Repository:
Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.

Language:
English.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

None.

Publication Rights

Property rights reside with the repository. Literary rights reside with the creators of the documents or their heirs. To obtain
permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Public Services Librarian of the Dept. of Special Collections.

Provenance

Gift of William Hyde Irwin, 1976, and the estate of William Hyde Irwin, 1983.

William Birelie Hyde was born February 14, 1842, in or near Baltimore, Md., the second child of Oliver Hyde, Jr. and Harriet
Kean Hyde. He and his family traveled overland to California either in 1851 or in 1853, and settled in Benicia, where he later
attended the Benicia Collegiate Institute. After attending the Rensellear Polytechnic Institute at Troy, N.Y., Hyde graduated
with distinction in 1861.

At the start of the Civil War, he formed a company of fellow students and drilled them in Troy and Albany. He then applied
to Gov. Morgan of N.Y., who then commissioned him major and ordered him to form a regiment in northern N.Y. state. So successful
was he, that on October 30, 1861 he was promoted to Lt. Colonel of the 9th N.Y. Cavalry. After serving a tour of guard duty
near Washington, the regiment served on the Peninsula with McClellan. Resenting the inactivity of the regiment, Hyde resigned
in favor of a more active commission with a regiment of New York roughnecks. After drilling the men sufficiently to produce
a well-ordered regiment, Hyde was disgusted to learn that he had been passed over in favor of someone more suitable politically.
He resigned once more, and joined an emigrant party bound for California. On this trip he met Clarence King, geologist, and
James Gardner scientist.

Hyde parted company with his companions at Gold Hill, Nevada. Here, at the Gold Hill Foundry, Hyde assisted his father. Once
again, ill fortune faced Hyde. Shortly after the foundry burned, Hyde left for the Yosemite Valley where he rejoined King
and Gardner, who were involved in a government survey of the valley for Prof. F. L. Olmstead. The correspondence of the Hyde
Papers begins here.

Hyde was an engineer and Washington lobbyist for the Terminal Central Pacific Railway from December 1866 to May 1869. Letters
concerning this period are found in Letterbook #1. Also mentioned are the Yosemite survey, his marriage, and a Russian-American
telegraph survey. Letterbook #2 (1869-1873) covers the period after Huntington squashed the Terminal road and took on Hyde
for the CPRR. At first, Hyde served as a Sacramento lobbyist, field man and general surveyor of southern California routes.
He later became Special Agent for the S.P.R.R. in the fight with Scott, Donahue and Downey in procuring Los Angeles County
for the S.P., and in laying out the required 50 miles of road. An apparent down-grading of his duties thereafter caused Hyde
to resign.

Hyde later held a series of positions: minor railroad jobs, an ice plant, etc., before he designed water works for the San
Joaquin-San Francisco Water Works Company. Letterbook #3 (1873-1877) details all these projects as well as a report on the
reclamation of Union Island and various family letters.

The collection also houses two Western Union telegraph message books for July-August 1873 concerning materials for and building
of the SPRR in Los Angeles County, and one folder of 28 family letters (1864-71). Major correspondents include Leland Stanford,
Mark Hopkins, C.P. Huntington, U.S. Grand, J. Ross Browne, and Bishop Alemany.

Administrative Information

Index to Volume 1: William Birelie Hyde letters during period when he was engineer and lobbyist for the Terminal Central Pacific
Railway. December 1866 to May 4 1869.

Indexed by date of letter. Terminal Central Pacifoc R.W. and Yerba Buena Island not indexed, most letters concerned them Note:
This index is incomplete and has not been rechecked. Many of the names were difficult, if not impossible, to read in the letter
books and questionable names are typed in parenthesis. Hyde's habit was to refer to most people by last name only. From Washington
it was difficult to determine whether he was referring to a Senator or a Congressman.

Flint, Edward P. TCPRW Co. son of James P.,
5/5/67,
to 11/7/67,
11/9/67
to 11/9/67,
11/30/67,
12/18/67,
1/2/68,
1/6/68,
1/9/68
to 5/3/68,
6/7/68,
6/19/68 to 7/4/68,
7/5/68,
to 7/27/68,
to 7/31/68,
9/10/68,
to 9/29/68,
to 10/20/68,
12/7/68,
12/26/68,
to 12/26/68,
to 1/4/69,
1/4/69,
to 1/28/69,
1/29/69/
to 2/10/69,
to 3/30/69.

Flint, James P. Banker, Flint Peabody & Co., Boston. Pres. of T.C.P.R.W.
1/6/67,
5/5/67,
1/2/68,
6/7/68,
6/19/68,
7/4/68/
7/21/68,
to 11/18/68,
11/19/68,
to 12/7/68,
to 12/8/68,
to 12/12/68
to 12/13/68,
to 12/15/68,
to 12/17/68,
to 12/21/68,
to 12/24/68
to 12/36/68,
to 1/4/69,
to 1/6/69,
tel. to 1/23/69,
to 1/27/69
to 1/28/69,
to 2/1/69,
to 2/2/69,
to 2/3/69,
to 2/6/69,
to 2/11/69,
to 2/13/69,
to 2/15/69,
to 2/16/69,
to 2/17/69,
to 2/22/69,
to 3/1/69,
to 3/2/69,
to 3/5/69,
to 3/6/69,
to 3/9/69,
to 3/16/69,
to 3/23/69,
to 3/26/69,
4/5/69,
4/21/69
5/1/69,
to 5/4/69.

Flint Peabody & Co., (Boston),
to 4/21/69,
to 4/23/69,
to 5/1/69
to 5/4/69,

INDEX of Book 2 of his letter books with the exception of the first 35 pages indexed with Book 1 due to related subject matter.
These indexes are not complete nor accurate, they have never been checked and re-checked. 1869 - 1873. Most names in letters
sur-name only.

Appeal, The Marysville (Frank Gross),
to 10/30/71,
to 11/9/71,
to 11/19/71,
to 5/22/73.

Arizona,
9/14/72,
11/8/72.

Arroyo Seco,
9/2/72,
9/4/72.

Atwill, _____
2/9/70

Austin, Nev. R.R.,
2/25/70

(Azier), Mrs _____,
12/10/69.

B...
See ADD

Bacon, Henry D.
10/28/69,
11/28/69,
to 11/29/69,
12/2/69,
to 12/2/69,
to 12/4/69,
to 12/9/69,
12/10/69,
to 2/9/70,
to 2/20/70,
2/25/70,
to 2/25/70,
to 11/24/71,
12/15/71,
to 12/29/71,
to22/18/71,
to 1/11/72,
to 1/19/72,
to 1/16/72,
to 1/31/72,
to 2/8/72,
to 2/13/72,
to 3/3/72,
to 3/9/72,
to 3/8/72,
to 3/14/72,
to 3/22/72,
to 3/24/72,
8/29/72,
10/1/72,
to 12/9/72,
1/30/73,
to 2/3/73,
to 2/9/73,
to 2/20/73,
to 2/22/73,
2/11/73,
4/22/73,
to 7/30/73,
8/19/73,
to 8/23/
to 8/23/73,
to 8/25/73,
to 8/22/73,
to 8/14/73,
8/29/73.

This index is incomplete, it has never been checked or re-checked. alphebetical and numerical inconsistencies due to working
from pencil notes and too lazy to reorganize. whi.

Index to Volume 3: William Birelie Hyde letters in his letter-copy book

His last available copy book - from September 1873 to August 31, 1877. Including final work with C.P.- S.P.RR, Steam Plow,
Ice Plant, His plans for a water works for San Francisco and formation of the San Joaquin-San Francisco Water Works Co. Letters
to members of his family. A report on reclamation of Union Island. His history in appliaction for membership in the American
Society of Civil Engineers. Letters to family members etc.
NOTE, this is not an accurate index, it has never been checked nor re-checked, but is fairly complete--Wm.Hyde Irwin. There are
errors and omissions. - wi

In the interest of the city, Hyde's nom de plume in criticising Scowden's Spring Valley report,
8/11/76

J

(Jems) Sen. J.P.,
to 6/24/77

Jones, Hon J.P. State Senator,
to 8/3/76

K

Keller and Co.,
to 11/12/76

Kennedy, John, Ch.Eng.Harbors & Docks, Montreal
to 9/6/76,
9/29/76

Kern County,
1/5/75,
11/22/76,
2/11/77

Kern River,
8/3/76

Kidd ranch (UnionIsland),
6/3/77

Kidder, John F. Co.,
8/17/76

-re: Nevada survey for C.P.R.R.

Kimball Mfg Co. SF,
9/11?/73,
9/19/74

King, Clarence, Geologist,

re: Yosemite valley survey
-9/17/76

Knapp, Louis H., Ch.Eng. Buffalo W.W.,
to 8/6/76,
10/15/76

Knights Landing,
5/22/74,
5/25/74,
5/?/74

Lake Tahoe, proposed source of S.F. water,
6/18/76

Land Agent (Federal),
5/1/74

Lane, Moses, City Eng. Milwaukee,
to 9/6/76

Lathrop junction R.R.,
11/22/76

Leavitt, E.D., Phila,
to 8/6/76

Lesarge, Louis, Ch.Eng.Montreal W.W.,
to 10/15/76,
to 6/17/77

Lewis, David, L.A.Co.,
9/16/73,
12/3/73

Lewis, Oliver & Phillips, Pittsburg Pa.,
to 7/15/76

re: competative shipping rates-
to 8/2/76,
8/10/76

Lone Pine,
9/30/73

Los Angeles city, city stock to SP and demands of S.P.Co.-
9/30/73

Hyde's arrangements for S.P. with city -
10/1/73,
10/15/76

re: legal placement of S.P. depot site,
2/25/77

Los Angeles county, County stock to S.P.,
9/30/73,

Affidavit on state of S.P.R.R. by L.D.Norton, Eng.
-10/1/73,
2/25/77,

Receipt for 74 bonds,
10/7/73

Los Angeles Board of Supervisors,

re: bonds to S.P.
9/18/73,

re: bonds
9/25/73,

Affidavit of engineerand request for 72 bonds-
to 10/6/73

Los Angeles and San Pedro R.R.,
2/25/77

Los Nietos,
9/30/73,

Hydes plans for building R.R.-
10/2/73,
12/5/73

Lowell, N.R., S.F.,
to 2/29/76

Lynch, Mary Atkins,
6/3/77

M

McAffee Spiers & Co., (plow)
5/?74

McAffie Direct Steel Casting Co., Phila.,
8/31/77

McAfee, _____, Engineer,
6/3/77

McDonald, P.J., (rival steam plow),
to 3/7/75

McKinnon, Duncan (Salinas valley)
to 3/21/75

McQuarries, S.,
to 12/23/73

Macrae, _____(Collins Telegraph Expedition)
9/27/73

Mariposa Co.,
9/17/76

Marsh, E.B.,
to 9/30/73

Marshall Sons & Co, London,
to 4/11/75

Mary L.Williams, Gen.T.Williams river steamer,
6/3/77

Marysville,
10/15/76

Marysville Foundry (plow)
7/18/73,
5/7/74

Martinex, Cal.,
2/1/76

Mattison & Willia´ms, Stockton, re: constructing gang plows,
to 5/7/74,
to 5/13/74,
to 5/19/74,
to 5/22/74,
to 6/24/74,
to 9/29/74,
to 12/6/74,
to 2/2/75,
to 3/7/75,
to 3/21/75,
10/28/75,
to 12/6/74
to 2/2/75,
to 3/7/75,
3/21/75,
10/28/75,
to 12/2/75,
1/30/76
to 4/16/76,
to 1/4/77,
to 1/16/77